Planning an orangutan adventure? Here are 7 facts you really need to know!

Samboja Lestari Sanctuary is in East Kalimantan, Indonesia/Borneo. A short drive from the capital city of Balikpapan, the area is known for its huge palm oil plantations and open coal mining.

Whilst these offer much needed local employment and subsistence, they are drastically affecting the environment. Massive loss of forest habitat and native animals is endangering the orangutan and sun bear.

This could be made much worse by Indonesia’s proposal to move its capital city from Jakarta to this area.

Samboja is one of only a few sanctuaries trying to save the Indonesian orangutan from extinction.

Fact 1.  Orangutans Are Almost Human – Literally!

They say orangutans share 98% of our DNA. It is quite interesting to go face to face with an animal that at times is like looking in a mirror.

Their facial expressions are so human-like with very similar mannerisms. They look at you with piercing eyes that just burn into your heart.

The eyes have it

Fact 2. Solitary Or In Family Groups?

Orangutans are generally solitary animals, especially with competition for food. Captive orangutans at Samboja demonstrated amazing group interactions and family behaviour which is quite unusual in the wild.

Family group of orangutans

Mother and baby orangutan

Two shy baby orangutan in Nursery School

Fact 3. Do Orangutans Love Or Hate Water?

Orangutans don’t like getting wet. They hate it. They hide under trees, hut roofs and blue enrichment plastic barrels.

In fact, anything just not to get rained on. We even saw one putting large leaves on its head or a piece of broken plastic as an umbrella.

Sheltering from the rain

But whilst they hate rain, some younger orangs love to play with water from a hose. One would sit for hours having her feet and hands hosed just for fun, as their junior human counterparts might do.

The simple joy of flowing water

Fact 4. Orangutans Are Very Sexy Primates!

Male orangs are quite sexually active. If a male volunteer approaches, they would often show their dominance by grabbing a female and have sex with her to ‘show off’.

So bonobo monkeys are not the only primates practicing ‘quickies’.  Shame these male initiated events are not always consensual.

Adult male orangutan showing affection

If a male orangutan likes a female keeper, he will often show his penis to her as a sign of affection. Sound familiar?

Not all things are proportionate in size…

Fact 5. Tuberculosis Amongst Orangutans Is An All Too Common Problem

Orangutans practicing self-examination?

Orangutans are prone to tuberculosis, with quite a few rescued animals being infected and needing quarantine. Even once treated and cured, ‘ex-TB’ animals can never be released back to the wild for fear of re-activation.

They are housed separately from the other captive animals to prevent re-infection.

In this part of remote Borneo laboratory testing for TB can take months. This necessitates solitary confinement all that time. Improving this situation is a work in progress.

Fact 6. Orangutans Are Playful And Highly Intelligent

Orangutans are highly intelligent and so in captivity, they are often given ropes or rubberised play structures as well as ‘enrichment parcels’.

These include short sections of bamboo containing smeared porridge or tempeh and soybean mix with a few dried fruit pieces or peanuts.

Baby orangutan taught climbing skills in Nursery School

The parcels given were often larger than the size of the wire of the quarantine cages. Their ingenuity in opening the parcels whilst holding them outside the cage wire was a feat worth watching!

Their amazing strong fingers and teeth could bite and easily crack the thick bamboo to get to the delicious contents.

Lisa, a volunteer from Australia making ‘enrichment’ packages

Other enrichment parcels were ice blocks of fruit or caffeine-free herbal tea wrapped in cellophane. They would make a hole in it and then peel it back to get at the flavoured ice in a very neat and delicate action.

Fact 7. When Is An Orangutan Happy Or Sad?

How can you tell when an orangutan is happy? They drop their bottom lip. And when they are not happy, they show their teeth as a sign of aggression, so always be on the alert.

They may appear relatively small and playful, but even a small baby orangutan can be extremely strong.

Athletic baby orangutan high in the forest trees

We would like to thank the staff of Samboja Lestari Sanctuary (BOS) and The Great Projects (UK) for enabling this experience of a lifetime.

Volunteer group

Photos by Irene Isaacson.